Ernesto Rodriguez steps in for Shamil Musaev at PFL Washington D.C

ORLANDO, FL - APRIL 03: Thad Jean celebrates after defeating Mukhamed Berkhamov during the first round of the PFL 2025 World Tournament at Universal Studios on April 3, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) | Getty Images MMA Fighting has PFL D.C. results for the Jean vs. Rodriguez fight card from CareFirst Arena, Washington, D.C on Saturday night. In the main event, Thad Jean takes on late-notice replacement Ernesto Rodriguez for the vacant PFL welterweight title. The 2025 PFL welterweight champion, Jean was originally scheduled to face 2024 PFL champion Shamil Musaev in the bout, but Musaev withdrew this week, allowing Rodriguez, who was booked to fight Aaron McKenzie on the undercard, to step in. A light heavyweight slugfest between Tyson Pedro and Rafael Xavier serves as the co-main event. The PFL D.C. prelim card kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+, with the main card following at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN. Check out the PFL D.C. results below. Main Card (10 p.m. ET on ESPN) Thad Jean vs. Ernesto Rodriguez — Vacant welterweight title fight Tyson Pedro vs. Rafael Zavier Sullivan Cauley vs. Rasul Magomedov Eliezer Kubanza vs. Chris Mixan Preliminary Card (8 p.m. ET on ESPN+) Michael Cyr vs. Bryce Meredith Nkosi Ndebele vs. Brandon Davis Chad Yard vs. Coby Bradford Noah Hermosillo vs. Jacob Pais

PFL Washington D.C. on Saturday, July 25 at the CareFirst Arena will be headlined by #3 Thad “The Silverback” Jean (11-0) against #8Ernesto “Starboy” Rodriguez (11-1) for the PFL Welterweight World Championship as Shamil Musaev withdraws due to ...

Bummer. Professional Fighters League (PFL) Washington D.C. just took a brutal late hit. Welterweight superstar-in-the-making Thad Jean was supposed to collide with Shamil Musaev for the vacant Welterweight title this weekend (Sat., July 25, 2026) inside CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, that banger is no more. Musaev has withdrawn from the fight, according to […]

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - AUGUST 01: Thad Jean looks on before fighting Logan Storley during the finals of the PFL 2025 World Tournament at Boardwalk Hall on August 1, 2025 in Atlantic City, Florida. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) | Getty Images The PFL Washington D.C. card on Saturday has taken a major hit. Shamil Musaev has been forced off the card at the last minute after he was scheduled to face Thad Jean in a welterweight title fight in the main event. PFL officials confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Thursday following an initial report from MMAJunkie. There’s no word on what exactly happened with Musaev but he’s off the card and now 11-1 welterweight prospect Ernesto Rodriguez steps into the main event after he was originally scheduled to compete on Saturday’s undercard. Rodriguez faces Jean with the welterweight title going up for grabs. The fight serves as Jean’s latest opportunity to continue his undefeated run in the PFL after he put on an incredibly impressive performance winning the 2025 welterweight tournament. The 11-0 fighter seeks to add the PFL welterweight title to his resume with a win on Saturday. Of course it’s tough news for the PFL but not the first title bout to fall apart during fight week. In the UFC, Islam Makhachev was scheduled to defend his lightweight title back in 2025 but an injury to Arman Tsarukyan forced a last second change to Renato Moicano. Makhachev’s coach and friend Khabib Nurmagomedov also dealt with a similar last second change when he was supposed to fight Tony Ferguson and ended taking on Al Iaquinta on short notice instead. The PFL Washington D.C. main card kicks off on Saturday night at 10 p.m. ET with Jean vs. Rodriguez now headlining the event.

There’s a new main event for the PFL Washington D.C. card on Saturday.